10 Brutal Movie Torture Scenes That Made Our Toes Curl
4. Piano Wire Audition
Japanese director Takashi Miike is something of an expert when it comes to visceral filmmaking. His 1999 psychological horror film, Audition, features one of the most disturbing torture sequences in cinematic history, which has earned notoriety and acclaim from critics, audiences and fellow horror directors. The film blends dark comedy with outright horror as it tells its story of a widower who aims to find a girlfriend by hosting a series of fake film auditions. The widower, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), falls for a tall, slender woman, Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina), who is anything but the shy, sensitive girl she appears to be. The torture begins with Aoyamas chemically induced paralysis that leaves his nerves active. Asami then begins her work by inserting needles into various parts of his body, including his chest and the areas below his eyes. Next comes the piano wire, which Asami uses to saw through one of Aoyamas ankles. Mike captures the sense of complete vulnerability perfectly, and the glee with which Asami conducts each stage of the torture is truly haunting. However, by far the most gruelling part of the experience is the sound thats produced by the piano wire as Asami saws through Aoyamas ankle.
